The folder name in which the WinPE image is stored is listed before the name of the Windows XP backing flat image (the image that is created when you run Risetup.exe) because the first letter of the folder in which the WinPE image is stored occurs earlier in the alphabet. For example, the WinPE image is stored in the following folder:

To work around this issue, rename the folder in which the Windows XP backing flat image is stored to a name that starts with a letter that occurs earlier in the alphabet than the first letter of the folder in which the WinPE image is stored.

If you are loading a RIPrep image, the Remote Installation Services Boot Information Negotiation Layer (BINL) service looks for a matching backing flat image so that the service can start. After the service starts, it starts the network, and then copies the image to the local hard disk. The BINL service scans the Reminst\Setup\Language\Images folder alphabetically as it looks for a matching Ntoskrnl.exe file. Because WinPE images are a subset of the Windows XP files, the BINL service finds a match, and then selects this image. For additional information about how the Remote Installation Services BINL service finds a matching flat image, click the article number below
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